Of gable and other chains



v@nitric tats latrnt i titre.

ALFRED HOMFRAY, OF WITLEY LODGE, ENGLAND.. Letters Patent-No. 70,845,dated .ovember 12, 1867; patented in EngZand,.priZ 8, 1865.

IMPRVED MAGHINE POB. MAKING THE LINKSA OF @ABLE 4AND OTHER CHAINS.

l @In Srlphnle referat tu ia tipa tittrrt tant :uit mating niet nf ite smut.

To ALL 'ro WHOM Im MAY coN'cnnN:V

Be'it known that I, ALFRED ,HOMFRAL of Witley Lodge, inthe parish of IIalesowen, in the county of Worcester, England, gentleman, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, havcinvented or discovered' new and useful Improvements in the Mode of Making or Forming the Links of Iron or Steel Chains and Chain Cables, and for Machinery to be used therein; and I, the said ALFRED HOMFRAY, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof; that is to say-' l j My invention consists of a rapid and inexpensive method of manufacturing iron or steel chains and chain cables, which hasthe following advantages, namely: each link, whatever its thickness, has a true and regular shape; the link is' turned or shaped and the weld effected at one heat. The weld is made by one blow, and s as strong as or'strongecthan any other part of the link. I can at will secure an extra thickness of metal at the weld, and also weld the link on the top, the side, or the shoulder. Iron and steel chains and chain cables are mostly made by hand labor. Thelink is heated several times in making the scarf, turning or shaping the link, and welding it, andthe weld is often imperfect, from the metal having been burnt or crystallized by repeated blows of the hammer whilst cooling. According to my invention I heat the link but once, and weld it at one blow, and'thus obviate these defects. I can also make a chain or chain cable of any strength, as readily as the usual sizes, by using a more powerful machine. I can weld with any kind ofjoint, butprefer a butt or straight joint. The mode by which I form a chain or cable is-as follows: I cnt cylindrical 'bars of `iron or steel of the required size into straight pieces, each suicient to form a-link. I heat the ends ofe'ach piece toa welding heat in a re with a double blast, or I heat the metal bars in a. close urnacc .in which are placed hollow lire-bricks, each shorter 4than the bars to be heated. The bars-are inserted in these hollow bricks, so that the middloof the bar is kept at a red heat, while the ends only are raised to a welding heat. When the ends of the .bar are at a weldingl heat I place the bar across the opened jaws of the machine hereinafter described. I let a shaft or ram of, the said machine fall and cause the bottom of a mandrel upon the said. ram to strike the middle of the'heated bar and drive it downwards, and at'the same time close the jaws upwards on each sideand force' the metal to -elip the oval mandrel. I then let a welding-hammer fall, the die at the bottom of which strikes the two ends of the heated metal at their junction and welds them. I raise the shaft or ram and welding-hammer, and remove the link from themandrel, and cut off or smooth over anyy surplus metal which has escaped between the mandrel and die. I thread another heated bar through the last-formed link, and form another link, in the manner before described, and so on until the chain or cable is complet-edu When making stud-cables, I put the stud into an aperture or groove ont across the face of the mandrel, and then close tho link upon it at one op'eraticn.

In order that my improvements may be better understood, I will nov.l proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawing, the machinery which I employ in carrying my invention into effect.

Figure 1 represents an elevation of one side, and Y Figure 2 an elevation of theother side of the said machine, the being in position to commence the makin-g of a link of a stud-chain or cable. d

Figure 3 is an edge view of the same, and

vFigure 4 represents the same elevation as fig. l, after a link has been formed by the machine.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in each-ligure. l

The said machinery consists ot' an anvil, a, on the face of which are liked two iron or steel plates or jaws,

b c, working on axles d e. The inside edges of the plates or jaws b e are grooved or shaped as indicated in dotted lines, to the oval figure of the sides of the links tohe made. When closed they form a hollow oval' frame tting thevexterior of the'proposed link, except at the top, where they do not meet, to admit the .passage through them of the welding-die'hereinafter described. A' space is also left between thel jaws at bottom, for .the passage of the link lastI formed. The-jaws close upwards, and are so centred that in closing 'they clip the heated iron or steel rodj" placed upon the' anvil a, and force it to assume the shape'of the proposed link. When opened the jaws allow the `chain feeble, as it is made, to pass freely between them. At the back of the metal frame or anvil a are two metal tappets or reversed jaws or levers, 52 ci', connected with the front iron or, steel plates or jaws b c, before described,.by the axles d e. These tap'pets or levers?)z e, when struck by the'sliding shaft or ram next described, force the from. .ws Z1 c together. Above, and'into .e centre of theanvil, a metal shaft or ram, g, is made to slide up and down, the top of which shaft or ram works in a frame, and the bottom of which is bevelled to t the tappets or levers ca 17". This shaft or ram, on falling, strikes the tappets or levers c2 lv, and by its weight and momentum closes the jaws Z1 e. In the front of the sliding shaft or ram g a man drei or oval metal plate,.t, is inserted or fixed, the said mandrel being shaped to the size of the inside of the link to be made, and grooved at the top, to receive half the thickness of the link. |lhis mandrel It has an apcrture or cross-groove, z', in the bottom, which receives the top ot the last-frmed link, (see fig. 4.) The mandrel has also a groove, k, across its face,.to receive the stud Zwhen links for studcables are4 being made. The mandrel h is movable, and can be reversed when it is required to weld the link-at the side or on the `shoulder. The mandrel t stands out from the face oi'. the sliding shaft or rain g, so that as the said shaft or ram g falls, the bottom of the mandrel la. strikes the heated rod fand drives it downwards between the jaws 6 c. On the sliding rshaft or ram g, but working independently thereof, another shaft or ram, m, slides, which I t'erm the welding-hammer. At the bottomof the welding-hammer m a movable die, n, is fixed, which fits the aperture between the top of the jaws b e, and when the welding-hammer m falls, the said die n strikes the two ends oi' the heated bar and welds them on the top of the mandrel/lt. The dien is grooved to half the diameter of the thickness of the link. The welding-hammer m has also attached to it two clips or pieces of metalfop, which, i

when the hammer m falls, clip the outside of the jaws b c, and hold them firmly against the link. The machine is so constructed that the sliding;r shaft'or ram'g falls before the welding-hammer m. The manner in which the falling mandrel l1. doubles the heated har f, and the jaws or plates b'c close upon and shape the bar into an open link, and the die n nally welds the ends of the link upon the tcp'of the mandrel, will be readily compreherided by an examination and comparison of'gs. 1 and 4 of the drawing. Both the sliding shaft or ram g and the welding-hammer fm. rest on the anvil at. They are lifted independently by cams or other lifting machinery now in useand the link is bent and welded by theirweight and momentum. The whole machine is framed together. The jaws or plates b c, ram g, and mandrel h, and parts connected with the same, may be used for fashioning or shaping the bars of iron or steel 4into open or unwelded links, independently of Vthe welding-hammer m 'n for welding the links. The unwelded links made by the said machinery may be welded by hand or otherwise.

Havingnow described the nature of my invention, and themanner in whiehthe .same is to be performed, I wish it to be nnderstood that I do not limit myseli to the precise details herein described, and illustrated in the drawing, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my inventiom' but I claim as my invention- I 1. The sliding shaft4 or ram, and mandrel which it carries, in combination with the anvil and the jaws for .holding the link, and tappets for closing said jaws, substantially as and for the purposes herein shown and described. v

2. The combination, with the sliding shaft. or ram and its mandrel, of the welding-ram or hammer and die, arranged and mounted in the frame of the machine, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination ofthe mandrel, its shaft, and the welding-hammer and die, with the anvil, link-holding jaws, and tappets by which said jaws are closed, substantially as herein shown and specified.

l ALFRED HOMFRAY. [1.. s] Witnesses:

RICHARD Sirsanarr, 7 Cannon Street, Bz'wm'ngham. T. TUTIN, 7 Cannon Street, Birmingham. 

